8 hurt in ceiling collapse at gala honoring Chuck Brown

WASHINGTON — Eight people were hospitalized after a ceiling partially collapsed in Southeast D.C. during a gala honoring Godfather of Go-Go Chuck Brown, NBC Washington reports.

Crews responded to the Eye Street Gallery in the 200 block of I Street SE at 9 p.m. Friday evening after foam material and ceiling panels fell from the ceiling. The gallery was hosting the city’s Commission on the Arts and Humanities multimedia exhibition on go-go music.

“I looked up at the band area and saw what looked like dry wall fall … then we saw ceiling tiles falling and people scattering,” one witness told NBC News4’s Darcy Spencer.

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray attended the event earlier in the evening, but had left before the incident.

“This is very unfortunate. It just makes you worry about anywhere that you go. I just pray for those that actually got hurt,” he said.